Stages

Part 6: End and Beginning

Due to the hypothermia, Jean became very sick the day after. After lying in bed for almost two weeks, in which Logan had stayed with her the whole time through while Hank took care of the medical part, she finally felt better. When she woke up one morning, she immediately noticed that she was alone. Usually, Logan lay next to her and was still sleeping. Now she missed his warmth next to her.

Slowly, she sat up and pulled strands out of her face. She still shivered a bit and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders before she got up. Holding it tight, she walked down the corridor towards the kitchen.

"Hey," Ororo said and put down the cup in her hand. "You got up?"

Jean sat down on the stool next to her. "Yeah, I couldn't lie in bed anymore. It's too depressing."

"Understandable after so many days," her opposite replied. "What do you wanna eat?" she added before she filled another cup with tea.

"Thanks," Jean said. "I'm fine with some bread. I'm not so hungry."

"Well, you lost a lot of weight." Storm noticed and took some bread out of the basket. "But Hank said you should start slowly with eating again anyway. So I think it's fine if you only eat a bit." She winked.

"Where's Logan?" Jean asked her calmly and drank some tea. "I missed him."

"Oh, he's in a pretty bad mood today!" the other woman warned her.

The red head wrinkled her brows. "Why?"

Storm put a plate with two marmalade bread down in front of her. "He and Scott had a pretty fight. You should have heard them since they were yelling at each other."

"What was it about?"

Storm gave her a look. "You really have to ask?"

Jean let her had in which she was holding the bread sink. "About me? Why?" she asked. "Scott doesn't really believe that I'm going back to him…"

Ororo shrugged. "Dunno. Well, Logan's at least in the Dangerroom because he was more than close to destroying something."

"Did they hurt each other?" Jean asked worriedly. She knew that Scott was the only one who could make Logan going berserk within seconds.

"Nah, not much. After Scott grabbed Logan's shirt, he'd pushed him roughly aside. But that's it." She watched how her friend looked at her plate in thoughts. "What about you?" she asked her after a while.

Jean met her eyes. "I'm fine."

"That's not what I meant!" her opposite corrected her. "How do you want to go on?"

The other women pulled the blanket closer. "I talk with Scott, pack my things and move out of the room," she explained as if it was the easiest thing on the world.

"What about Logan?" Storm asked her next. "I mean…" She broke eye contact and looked for the right words. "…you know what he did."

Jean nodded. "Yeah I know," she replied. "But…as you said before, I hurt him pretty bad…"

"And he hurt you by sleeping with this blonde…" She broke off. "Sorry, but even if he did everything for you around the clock in the past two weeks, I still can't forgive him!" She shook her head.

Jean nodded again. "We have a lot to talk about, I know that."

"Hey! Why are ya out of bed?" A rather pissed sounding voice suddenly echoed through the kitchen. "You're sick, damn it!"

"I was hungry," she said calmly and looked at him intimidated.

Logan snorted. "Go back to bed before ya get real sick again!"

Ororo gave him a look. "Still pissed, huh?" she noticed and ignored the look he gave her. "You should be a bit nicer to her, you know."

"Whatever," he grunted and took Jean's plate and cup. "Come on, off ya go!" he said to her ad nodded towards the door. Jean met Storm's eyes for a brief moment before she followed Logan to his room again.

He opened the door and let her enter first. He watched her turning around and saw her despaired face. "Logan, really," she said in a tearful voice. "I can't lie in bed anymore…"

"Your sick, Red," he replied intransigently. "Juts because it's the first day ya feel better ya can't just walk around like that."

"But…," she sighed. "Then let me at least get my stuff from my room, okay?" She looked at him pleadingly, while he stared back with his hands on his hips. He hated her going all puppy eyes on him.

"You lie down and stay there afterwards?" Logan finally asked her and she nodded. "Good, ya have five minutes!" Jean smiled at him and left the room.

XXX

Scott sat on the double bed as the door opened. Surprised he looked up. "Jean…"

She only gave him a look before she walked over to the wardrobe. "What are you doing?" he asked and came closer as she began to pull her clothes out of it. "Hey!" He grabbed her hand and made her stop. "What is this?" he pulled her arm away. "What do you think?" Jean gave him a look and threw her stuff on the bed.

Scott watched her despaired. "I'm sorry, Jean. God, I'm so sorry!"

"I don't care!" she gave back while she went on without looking at him. "You should have thought about this before you cheated on me!"

"I know," he replied barely audible and lowered his head. "Jean, please…give me a second chance!"

She looked at his wet cheeks and his begging look, while she pulled her last jeans out of the wardrobe. "No…," she only said before she continued with the drawer.

"But where do you wanna go?" he asked her. "To him? He only hurts you, Jean!"

Jean looked up giving him a sarcastic look. "Believe me if anyone can hurt me more than you have, he deserves a prize!" She threw her complete stuff to the rest and walked over to the bathroom. "I can't even tell you how disappointed I am." She continued. Scott looked down while his heart was nearly breaking. He heard her packing her things into a toiletries bag. When she came out, she dropped it on the bed, too, and pulled a suitcase from the top of the wardrobe. Angrily, she threw her stuff into it. "You know what I keep on asking me?" she asked him, her face a mask of anger and pain. "Why? I can't find an answer to it. Why, Scott?"

He shrugged. "I don't know…," he answered with a whisper.

"Am I not attractive anymore? Am I too old for you?" she added aloud and closed the suitcase roughly.

"Of course you're not!" Scott replied in shock. "What makes you think that?"

Jean gave a derisive laugh. "You're really asking?" she said furiously. "Because my fiancé has an affair with a younger woman! Did you miss something in our relationship? Does she give you something I didn't?" Jean continued while tears gathered in her eyes. "Is it that?" she asked crying. "Because I don't understand it…really!" Scott returned her look. He was also crying. "At least be so honest and tell me!" Jean demanded and sobbed. "Do you even realize how you treated me? As if I was only some good friend of yours and not your future wife! So what is it, Scott?"

He sighed and sat down on the bed, burying his face in his hands. Jean only stared at him and waited. "I couldn't keep up with you anymore…"

She frowned. "What?" she asked in disbelief.

He shook his head and looked up. "Since your powers are growing you're different…," he explained. "You are far more passionate and powerful, Jean. I'm not like that and you know that…"

Jean stared at him; her expression completely blank while tears were still flowing. "So you're blaming me now? You could have said it!" she shot back barely audible. "Instead you treat me like trash and bed this bitch?"

"I already said I was sorry!" he gave back; despair echoing in his voice. "I was stupid." Scott looked down for a brief moment. Jean only shook her head in disgust before she grabbed the suitcase and turned around. "But you've betrayed me, too!" he suddenly said and she stopped in front of the door. "Emma told me." Jean met his gaze; saw the hurt and sarcastic look he gave her. "So…I assume you had a lot of fun up there, huh?"

She snorted, feeling the anger boiling within her. "You have no right to talk like that!" she hissed. "I slept only once with him and didn't betray you months in a row!"

"But you did sleep with him!" Scott shot back.

Jean narrowed her eyes. "At least he can keep up with me!"

"He's an animal; Jean! I even wonder that he didn't hurt you," he said through gritted teeth.

Feeling her blood pulsating in her veins, she got angrier with every second. She hated it if someone talked about Logan like that. Especially if he was called an animal. She knew how much it hurt him… "You don't know him! So how do you even dare to talk about him like that?" she said aloud and felt her powers going out of control.

Scott smirked. "You should see that you were only a good screw for him, Jean. So was Eliza… He is an animal!"

Clenching her fist, her eyes began to glow like fire. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she answered. Smirking arrogantly before she met his gaze again she put all her hate into it. "Then I'm an animal too. Because it was the first time ever that I was really satisfied!" Ignoring the shocked look of him, she left and returned to Logan's room.

Cautiously, she closed the door and dropped the case next to it. Sighing, Jean ran a hand through her face, suddenly feeling her head aching again. She couldn't believe that Scott thought he'd any right to talk with her in such a rude way. He nearly made her freak out, when he talked about Logan so condescending. He knew nothing about him. Frowning, she realized that the reason for her outburst really was Logan… She'd became protective of him…

"That was more than five minutes, ya know," he suddenly said and closed the door to the bathroom. His hair was still damp; she knew he just came out of the shower. Slowly, he came closer, looking at her frowning. "You cried?" Logan asked softly and watched her turning her head away. He grabbed her arm gently. "Did he hurt you?" Logan asked harsher than he'd intended to.

"He already did, didn't he?" Jean replied and sat down on the bed tiredly. He joined her but kept a distance. He knew that they'd to talk. "I'm sorry," she said all of a sudden.

"For what?" he asked her and cocked an eyebrow.

Lost in thoughts, Jean began to play with her shirt. "For not believing you." She tilted her head a bit. "Everyone thinks he's the perfect man. The knight in the shining armor…" She snorted and shook her head. "I think I believed it. I never thought he'd ever do it…"

Logan bent forward; resting his arms on his legs while he folded his hands and looked down. He wasn't any better, he knew that. She deserved someone who treated her with the respect she deserved…

Suddenly, she began to sob heavily and buried her face in her hands. Confused, Logan looked at her and watched as she clung to him. "Hey," he said softly and put his arms protective around her. Before he even realized it, she said on his lap and buried her head on his neck; her arms tightly wrapped around him. "What did he say?" he asked her calmly and stroked her back.

Still sobbing, she looked up and bit her lip. "Can I…ask you something?" Jean asked through several sobs.

"'f course!" He gently wiped away some tears and noticed that she blushed. She clearly felt suddenly very uncomfortable.

Jean swallowed hard. "In Canada…did I…" It was hard for her to ask it. Her heart beat so strong that she wondered if he could hear it. She looked for the right words. She just had to know it… Still she was afraid of his answer because she knew that he never talked around the bush.

"Did you what?" Logan asked her calmly since she had stopped in the middle of the sentence.

"Did I…overtax you?" she asked ashamed; her voice barely more than a whisper.

Logan could only frown. He had no idea what she meant. "When?"

Jean sighed and bit her lip again. Feeling even more uncomfortable than before. "…in bed…", she finally replied looking away.

"Are ya kidding?" he said aloud and looked at her uncomprehendingly. "Is that what this jerk said?" he growled angrily; feeling the desire to kill this guy overwhelming him. Since she didn't react he cupped her face in his hands and looked her deeply into her eyes. "If that boy can't handle a woman like you…it's his problem not yours! You got that?" he said completely serious. "If he can't keep up with ya it's his problem, too. You were amazing! That's all I've got to say, 'kay?" She smiled slightly and leant into his touch. "And now stop making such a sad face!" he teased her. "He doesn't deserve ya if he blames ya for it. It's not your fault, gorgeous!" Again he dried her tears.

"Really?" she asked uncertainly.

"I'd never lie to you, darlin'," Logan said seriously. "Forget that guy… Ya deserve someone who treats ya with respect!"

She smiled at him sadly and bent forward to kiss him, but he turned his head. Confused, she looked at him. "What's wrong?" He wanted to lift her off his lap, but she stopped him telepathically. "Logan,…what is it?"

He avoided her gaze. "I said someone who treats ya with the respect ya deserve…"

"And?" she asked still feeling puzzled.

Logan sighed frustrated and met her gaze. "I'm not someone like that."

Jean shook her head. "That's not true!"

He gave a short derisive laugh. "Come on! You know that I did it on purpose. Because I knew it would hurt ya," he said angrily.

"I hurt you, too!" she replied calmly. "Logan, you opened up to me and…and I treated you like trash. You had every right to act like that…"

"No, I hadn't!" he shot back. "I had no right to act like I did!"

Jean met his gaze. She saw the pain and anger within them. "You already said more than five times that you were sorry. And I've already forgiven you."

"Five times ain't enough!" he growled and broke eye contact.

Frustrated she sighed. "Gosh, Logan… You're really as stubborn as a brick wall." She shook her head. "It won't change anything if you'd get down on your knew and start begging," she added. "I'm not mad with you!"

"But I'm mad with me!" Logan grunted. Jean gave him an annoyed look. She was tired of it. Before he could do or say anything else, she grabbed his neck and forced him into a deep kiss. Looking into his hazel pools, which were a mixture of confusion, surprise and still anger, she stroked his cheeks. "Enough to convince you?" She saw that he struggled with himself. Part of him wanted to give in, the other part wanted to keep away from her; she knew the hardest punishment for him was not to be close to her. She sighed. "Logan, you're punishing me in that way, too. Don't you see that!"

"Jean, I don't deserve you," he said barely audible.

Jean kissed him again. "I love you, so yes, you do!"

He coked an eyebrow at her; unsure if he'd heard correctly. He wanted to hear those words for such a long time… "You do?"

She smirked softly at him. "I'd never lie to you."

He wanted to say something as it suddenly knocked on his door. He recognized the scent and immediately his heart kicked into high gear. Looking at carefully, he swallowed. "It's her…"

"Eliza?" Jean asked dryly and he nodded. She turned around as it knocked again, before she met his gaze. "Are we fine then?"

Logan shrugged. "If ya really sure of it… I mean…"

"I am!" she cut him off, knowing that he wanted to convince her of him being not worthy again. She got up and pulled her shirt over her head. Breathing in sharply, Logan looked at the woman who only wore her panties now and was getting up. She wrapped the blanket around her body, covering barely her breasts with it.

"What are ya doin'?" he asked her as she walked towards the door.

Eliza's bright smile immediately faded as she looked into Jean's smirking face. "Yeah?" the red head asked her innocently.

Looking down at the woman in front of her, the blonde woman only shook her head. "Nothing… Sorry!" Turning around, she soon disappeared into her room again. After closing the room door, Jean returned with a lascivious smile on her face.

"That was mean!" Logan commented her action, but she only shrugged. "She was mean, too!" she defended herself. Roughly, she pushed the surprised looking Logan back on the bed and pinned him down, while sitting astride on him. His shocked look was already replaced by a wide smirk. "So, now comes my punishment, eh?" he asked her playfully and she smiled down on him; pulling the blanket off her shoulders. Logan felt definitely happy again. He couldn't tell her how much he loved her, how much she completed him. When she bent down to kiss him he looked deeply into her beautifully green eyes. He still couldn't believe that she really wanted him. He promised himself that he would never ever hurt her again. She just meant too much to him… "Guess what" he asked her before their lips met.

"What?" Jean asked him and stopped centimeters from his face.

"The biggest punishment for me would be if ya moved in with me!" Logan said jokingly. "Having you around for 24 hours a day…that'd be really hard to endure… Already gives me a headache if I only think about it!"

She smirked, knowing how he meant it. "So be it!" Jean kissed him passionately, rebuilding the psychic link with him, while she broke the one with Scott forever. She didn't belong to him anymore. It was time to move on and she was ready for it. In fact, she and Logan had much more in common that Jean ever had with Scott. Both shared the same deep passion and loved the other for the simple being. She wanted to share everything with him if he wanted to, as long as they could be together. Breaking the kiss, Jean looked deep into the eyes she'd loved from the first moment their looks had met. "I love you."

Logan smiled at her while he drowned in her emerald pools. "Love ya, too, darlin'!" he said softly before their lips met again.

END

So, that was the short story Stages. Hope you enjoyed it. I am currently writing on Chapter 38 of Changes. This one really gives me a headache. : ( I have a terrible hard time writing it.

Anyway, thanks for reading this story and all the nice reviews! ; ) See ya!